Up to 450 New Bedford teachers to take ELL online training

NEW BEDFORD — Up to 450 New Bedford Public Schools teachers will participate in online training classes in the coming school year to improve instruction of English Language Learners (ELL).

NEW BEDFORD — Up to 450 New Bedford Public Schools teachers will participate in online training classes in the coming school year to improve instruction of English Language Learners (ELL).

Because of high demand among local educators during a registration day last month, the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) added 14 Sheltered English Immersion classes and another 150 slots for New Bedford teachers, school officials said.

The sessions are designed to help teachers to better teach students whose first language is not English. All Massachusetts public school teachers are now required to complete the training by July 1, 2016, a news release said.

An estimated 1,029 students in the city's schools — about 8 percent of the total enrolled — are identified as English Language Learners, school officials said.

Superintendent Pia Durkin, and Sonia Walmsley, ELL Implementation Manager had strongly encouraged all staff to register for the sessions. They learned on that on the June 23 registration date, all slots were filled by noon.

"The (DESE) really is amazed that New Bedford (teachers) had such a reaction," Durkin said Monday afternoon.

Earlier, in a prepared statement, she said, "This demonstrates the urgency that our teachers hold to serve a previously under-identified population and to do so with new tools and ideas they are eager to learn about."

Durkin also thanked state education officials for supporting the district with additional resources.